Teachers’ insight into misconceptions about simple circuits

• Main Author: Estelle Gaigher
• Format: Article
• Language: Afrikaans
• Published: South African Journal of Science and Technology 2016-02-01
• Series: South African Journal of Science and Technology
• Subjects: Misconceptions; electric circuits
• Online Access: http://www.satnt.ac.za/index.php/satnt/article/view/1363

Teachers’ insight into misconceptions about simple circuits. Many studies on learners’ misconceptions about electricity have been published internationally, but studies on teachers’ awareness of these misconceptions are few. This article reports on a case study to investigate to what extent South African teachers understand learners’ misconceptions about series and parallel circuits, and to what extent such understandings are integrated into their pedagogical content knowledge. Nine teachers from public schools were purposefully selected to participate in the study. Qualitative data were collected from questionnaires and interviews. It was found that teachers often indicate simple misconceptions as sources of learners’ mistakes, but that misconceptions related to incorrect analysis are seldom mentioned. Furthermore, it was found that these teachers’ knowledge about misconceptions was fragmented and not integrated with their understanding of basic concepts. The results indicate that these teachers display inadequate pedagogical content knowledge regarding misconceptions about series and parallel circuits. It is recommended that pedagogical content knowledge regarding misconceptions should be developed during teacher training.